1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to persistent, replicated, networked storage of Internet content, namely, graphics, images, streaming media files, software, and other digital objects.
2. Description of the Related Art
Content providers often have a need to store persistently the digital content they make available over the Internet. One business solution to this requirement is for the content provider to utilize the services of a so-called storage service provider (SSP). A typical SSP maintains a large amount of storage and provides a managed storage service that is built on top of a storage infrastructure. These entities typically operate single-location as opposed to replicated solutions. The SSP solution may not be fully satisfactory for several reasons. The SSP does not provide traditional hosting or content delivery, and it may only offer a limited or unacceptable service level. Some have scheduled downtimes that prohibit end-user access to content. Another approach to solving the need for persistent content storage is for the content provider to implement and manage its own in-house storage solution using storage products available from various vendors. Buying, deploying and managing an internal network storage solution requires costly capital expenditures. Also, management fees are typically many times the initial hardware cost, adding to the total cost of ownership. Further, internal management of network storage entails significant operational risk and typically is not a core competency of a given content provider.
There remains a need in the art to provide other means of network storage that overcomes these and other problems of the prior art.